The Secret in Time
by CherriesandRoses89
Summary: Something has gone amiss. There's something the jounin of Konoha know that they aren't telling their subordinates. It's a secret that's best kept. There's more to Uchiha and Hyuuga than either Sasuke or Neji think.SasuSaku Plese RnR. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Naruto._

**CHAPTER 1**

"What happened?" shouted a blond teenager as he, along with a girl and a dark-haired boy, burst into the hospital room.

"What happened?" he asked again. "Who did this? Who attacked him?"

A man clad in green held a finger to his lips and hushed him, a stern look on his face.

"Don't tell me to _shhh_!" exclaimed the blond boy.

"Be quiet," said another man, who had what looked like an unlighted cigarette between his lips, in a calm but rather stern voice. The long-haired woman beside him grasped the table behind her for support, her fingers trembling.

The boy gritted his teeth. The girl clad in red had her hands clasped close to her mouth. The other boy simply stood there, his dark eyes fixed on the bed on which a silver-haired man lay, seemingly asleep. More of unconscious.

A blond woman held both her hands over his chest, pale green energy emerging from them, her eyes narrowed in concentration, gritting her teeth. After a while that felt like eternity, the unconscious man's breathing seemed to ease, and the woman relaxed. She lowered her hands and sighed.

"Obaa-chan?" said the boy gently. The blond woman pushed some stray hair behind her ear before looking at him. She did not seem to mind the nickname the boy had given her. She knew it was more affectionate than it was teasing or insulting.

"He'll be fine, Naruto. He just needs to rest for a few days. He won't be able to do anything too strenuous for the next week, though."

"What happened, Obaa-chan?"

"I was supposed to meet up with him by the hot springs," said the man in green. "We were going to get a drink. I waited almost a whole hour for him. Even Jiraiya had come along, doing more of his 'research'. When he didn't turn up, I went to his house. I knocked but there was no answer. So I let myself in. It was then that I noticed the open window. Sure, Kakashi likes his windows open, but that one had been pried open. I found nothing in the house out of place, except for Kakashi."

"What do you mean?" asked the young girl.

"He was under the dining table. I immediately pulled him out from under there. Then I noticed he wasn't breathing properly. It was then that I saw the small puncture wound in his neck under his right ear. He was pretty beat up, looked like he had a few broken ribs. But I wasn't prepared to see him stop breathing and not to feel a pulse a minute later. I brought him here at once and fetched the Fifth. I was afraid he might die. She got the poison out of him before it managed to kill him but it had already spread to over half his body, slowing down the actions of his muscles. She was working on getting his heart to start beating again when you three came in."

They all stood silent for a few moments. Suddenly, the blonde woman cursed so loud Naruto thought Kakashi might actually wake up despite his flirt with death.

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune as she almost flew in the room at the sound of the Fifth Hokage shouting.

"Gai, was there anyone else in the house when you found him?" she asked the green clad gentleman who now had a puzzled look on his face.

"No, Hokage-sama. No one."

"Hokage-sama, you don't mean…?"

All eyes fell on Kurenai, who had not let go of the chair. Asuma and Gai met each other's gaze, comprehension dawning on them.

"You don't think…?" stuttered Gai.

"No. I don't think there were any witnesses to this attack. However, this attack was very recent. The attacker can't have gotten far yet."

"Someone has to go after them," said Asuma urgently.

"Yes, but you jounins have missions to go on this afternoon and tomorrow. The other jounins have their own missions and some have to remain within Konoha. Our only problem is, we don't know who we're looking for."

"I think we do, Tsunade-sama." Gai held out a scroll with symbols on it and the characters "The Six Winds" written inside.

"What would they want with Kakashi?" asked Asuma, after they had studied the scroll.

"They have to be working under someone's command. I cannot say who, but this is not good."

"They haven't taken anything from Kakashi. They hurt him, nearly killed him. What could they want? Clearly, this incident was only a warning of some sort. Perhaps — "

Asuma was interrupted by a nurse bursting into the room shouting, "Hokage-sama! Come quick! Hokage-sama!"

"Nani!?" exclaimed Tsunade.

"The Hyuuga boy, Hokage-sama, he's just been brought in by Hiashi-sama. He says he's been poisoned!" blurted the nurse, sweat running down her forehead.

"ACK!" came the sound from Gai-sensei who was wide eyed.

"Dammit!" said Tsunade.

Tsunade rushed out of the room after the nurse, followed by Gai-sensei. Asuma, Kurenai, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke waited in silence around Kakasi's bed, neither of them speaking. The silence was deafening. Naruto watched Kakashi-sensei's chest rise and fall gently. He clenched his fists as he wondered who could have done this to Kakashi. They had almost lost their sensei.

Tsunade returned twenty minutes later, having extracted the poison from Neji's body with the same medical techniques she had used on Kakashi.

"He's going to be fine," she said, in response to the anxious faces looking up at her.

"Who did it?" asked Naruto.

"We don't know," said Tsunade. "Although I can say he can't have been poisoned more than five minutes before he got here. Hiashi said he heard a disturbance in the house and went to investigate each room. Hanabi ran to him telling him they found Neji in the garden. He followed her there and saw Hinata with him. It was only then that Neji lost consciousness. But he wasn't exactly poisoned to kill him. Just incapacitated. Unlike Kakashi's case, his injury and death were not the intention."


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Naruto_

**CHAPTER 2**

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Shizune ran into the room once more, looking distraught.

"What is it now, Shizune?"

"Hyuuga Neji! Hiashi left his room for two minutes to speak to a nurse. When got back…Tsunade-sama, he's gone!"

"NANI?" said several voices at once.

"What do you mean gone? Where is he? Who took him?" asked Sasuke, speaking for the first time since they arrived at the Konoha Hospital.

"I think I know who we all suspect." Tsunade turned to the three chuunin. "I regret that I can't send Kakashi with you, but he is not capable of anything at all at the present moment. The other jounin have missions to go on in the next hour. I do not have much choice and we do not have much time. This is an A-rank mission."

"Tsunade-sama!" objected Gai-sensei. "Do you really think they will be able — "

"I trust them, Gai," Tsunade cut across Gai's retort. She saw Asuma grit his teeth and Kurenai's eyes narrow. "Konoha's chuunin have my complete trust. They proved themselves on the last rescue mission I sent them on even as genin."

Unbidden, a stream of unpleasant memories came flooding into Sasuke's mind: the hurt faces of the friends who cared for him, those who risked their lives for him and how he had simply turned his back on them in the selfish pursuit of power, Naruto's eyes. There had been pain in those eyes. Tears that he would not let flow. He had hurt them all. Mercilessly stabbed at their kind hearts. He remembered Sakura's pleas, her tears. He had been cruel. He had not returned to Konoha with Naruto. He had fought him with every intent of killing him. All for the foolish purpose of allowing himself to be used by Orochimaru. But he shouldn't have underestimated the power of the fire in the hearts of Konoha ninja.

They did not give up on him. They came for him again many, many months after that. Naruto threatened to kill him if he was still too stubborn and stupid to come back home with them. Even Sakura had come. The look in her eyes. There had been anger there. She had been ready to kill him. When he told her to go away, she burst into tears again and attacked him so quickly she actually succeeded in stabbing his arm. Sobbing, she begged him to come home.

Home. Now, more than ever in his life, Konoha was his home. His friends did not care that he had a raving lunatic for a brother, that his brother had wiped out the whole clan just to 'test his capabilities'. All they cared about that he was safe with them , their friend, a Konoha ninja. And Naruto, well, Naruto had indeed become his best friend.

"I will send Nara Shikamaru and Kiba with you. I cannot say what you will encounter on this mission, but be very careful. I cannot say how strong The Six Winds are, but they seem to like playing with poison. With Sakura in your team, you shouldn't have much of a problem." Tsunade paused to see three determined faces gazing at her. She was especially proud of Naruto. He was showing her more and more that he had more feeling and compassion for others in his big heart than anybody thought.

"The Six Winds cannot have gotten far yet, assuming of course that they are Neji's abductors. I want you to find Shikamaru and Kiba, prepare yourselves and leave in the next fifteen minutes."

"Hai." Three heads nodded. The three genin turned and hurriedly left the room.

_Please be careful_, though Tsunade to herself.

"Hokage-sama, are you sure they will be alright?" asked Gai-sensei.

She looked at the three jounins' concerned faces, then at the sleeping Kakashi. "I have faith in them," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Naruto_

**CHAPTER 3**

"What would they want with Neji? And who exactly are they, The Six Winds?" asked Shikamaru as the five of them sped through the trees, following Akamaru and Kiba's lead, the only ones in their team who could lead the way by scent.

"We don't know," said Naruto.

"They might be after the Byakugan," said Shikamaru wisely. "But the attack on Kakashi-sensei still doesn't make sense."

Akamaru, Kiba's small white puppy, barked.

"Hey, listen up," Kiba called. "We need to pick up some speed. They're moving fast."

"Hai," said four other voices.

Little more than half an hour later, Akamaru barked again. Kiba signaled for them to stp. He sniffed the air and frowned.

"What is it, Kiba?" asked Shikamaru.

"Another scent. We're not the only ones going after the Six Winds."

"How far away?"

"Not too far. Less then an hour behind us."

"Then let's pick up the pace a bit."

"Hai."

* * *

"How much further, Kiba?" asked Sasuke some time later. 

"We're close. They must have stopped to rest," Kiba replied.

"And what about the person behind us?" asked Shikamaru.

"Still following us," said Kiba.

"Hey Shikamaru."

"What, Naruto?"

"There's a small chance we could catch them unguarded. We need a plan."

* * *

Naruto peered through the trees. There, on the other side of a clearing, Neji sat propped up against a tree. He looked bruised and seemed to be panting. Naruto quietly crept up to him. 

"Neji," he whispered, leaning over the pearl-eyed boy. "Are you alright?"

The boy looked up at him. He was cut and bruised. Naruto knew something was wrong. He knew Neji's defenses to be spectacular having fought him in the chuunin exam. And why would his captors kidnap him and then just leave him here? No, this wasn't right. Naruto reached into a pouch strapped to his belt.

"Here, Neji," he said. "TAKE THIS!" he thrust a kunai staright at where Neji's heart would have been. But Neji caught his hand and held tight. So tight, in fact, that Naruto almost cried out.

Neji laughed. "You really want to kill me?" he asked Naruto, still gripping his wrist, making him drop the knife.

"You're not Neji!" shouted Naruto.

"Looks like the game's over." And the Neji-look-alike vanished in a puff of smoke to be replaced by a pale man with shoulder length bright blue hair, and cold, menacing blue eyes. Eyes as blue as Naruto's own.

"Guess I don't know your friend enough to successfully impersonate him. But no matter. You can't take on me all on your own."

He thrust Naruto's wrist back at him and jumped to his feet, ready to fight. Naruto ran at him, ready to punch him, but the man lazily dodged the blow and pushed Naruto back with such force that Naruto fell over on his back.

"You better hurry up, Kito. We have to hurry back. This boy will start waking up soon. You know it will be difficult to fight and contain him."

The man called Kito averted his eyes from Naruto and looked up at the woman who had spoken. She and three other man had emerged from hiding. They all wore the same clothing as the Neji impostor: plain dark grey robes.

"Don't worry, Nayuri. He's just a boy. I'll get rid of him in two minutes. You can't possibly be thinking of saving your friend all by your little self, can you?" he added to Naruto, stepping closer to him.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "What do you want with Neji?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"What do we want?" the woman behind him repeated. "You are much to insignificant for us to even have to bother telling you our plans. Especially not when you're about to die." She sneered.


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Naruto_

**CHAPTER 4**

A fierce fight ensued. But they were saved by Naruto's Kage Bunshin no jutsu, Shikamaru's tactics, Kiba's amplified senses, and of course Sasuke's sharingan. Sakura's healing techniques kept them all on their feet. Jouno had 'reluctantly' handed over his captive when Shikamaru used his Shadow Imitation technique. So far, they had downed three of their Six opponents. The three strongest, however, were still putting up a very good fight.

Neji fell to his knees. The drug was still working in him. Sasuke ran to help Neji to his feet and pull him to safety. A moment later, however, Sasuke pulled the still weakened Neji to the ground as several kunai flew towards them from all directions. That was Kito's doing, Sasuke was sure of it. Before he could do anything else to defend both of then, there were several clashes of steel as a dark blur moved over them from apparent nowhere. A second later, the kunai that had been aimed at them pierced the ground, forming a circle around them. As three more kunai came flying towards them, a figure dropped down in front of them, deflecting the weapons.

The figure stood in front of them. All that Sasuke and Neji could see were a black cloak and shoulder-length dark hair. Two slender yet apparently strong hands tightly grasped two kunai. Sasuke took a moment to look over at his teammates: Shikamaru was cut in several places and so was Kiba, but Sakura had already begun to heal them. Naruto seemed unhurt, or perhaps his wounds had just healed themselves faster. He looked down at Neji. The Hyuuga had almost fully recovered. His strength was already returning to him. Sasuke looked back at the figure in front of them, wondering who it was. Somehow the black cloak reminded him of the Akatsuki.

"So you've finally showed up," sneered Nayuri, though she help her side and spat a mouthful of blood at her feet. So Sakura's stab was deep. The cloaked figure made no reply.

"Sasuke!" shouted Shikamaru, "Bring Neji over here."

"I'm alright now," said Neji, getting to his feet. His head was still pounding slightly from the drug they had given him in order to be able to abduct him.

"You're not getting away that easy!" said Yaori, making a step towards Sasuke and Neji. But he stopped as two shuriken landed near his feet, hardly missing them.

"You plan to fight the three of us alone?" said Kito, getting up off the ground. "We haven't shown these underlings our full potential, you know. So don't think we'd be so easy."

"You're much dumber than you look, then, aren't you?" said Naruto.

"No, Naruto. You will not fight them anymore today," said a female voice. Naruto looked at Sakura, who shook her head.

"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked the cloaked figure. All eyes fell upon the person in black. The head was raised and Sakura gasped. The others saw why and stood in mildly shocked silence. There were familiar yet strange features on that face.

"Your mission is over," said the girl. "You have the Hyuuga. Go home."

"So you really do plan on fighting us all alone then?" said Kito.

"Foolish girl," chortled Yaori.

"They're not the ones you want," said the girl. "Let them go."

"You're right," said Yaori. And immediately, the three remaining Winds lunged forward.

"Get out of here!" she shouted at the six Konoha shinobi.

Then she moved fast. Very fast. Neji activated his Byakugan, and Sasuke his Sharingan as they all watched. Neji's jaw almost dropped. The technique she was using was very familiar to Neji. Very familiar. The girl was nothing more than a faint blur. Seconds later, her three opponents fell to the ground. But as she landed her last hit on Yaori, Neji thought he heard a faint whisper echo: _…128 strikes…_


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

"Let's go have some ramen!"

Sakura hung her head. She couldn't even bring herself to hit Naruto today. She had been training with Tsunade all morning was exhausted. Sasuke paid him no attention whatsoever.

"I think I'll go home now," said Sakura, ignoring Naruto's disappointed face. "You go have your ramen, Naruto. I have things to do." And she walked away, leaving Sasuke seated on the rock while Naruto tried in vain to convince him to have some ramen.

* * *

Naruto hummed happily to himself as he walked home in the cool evening. He had just won a bet with Jiraiya and his frog purse was fatter than it had ever been before. He stopped when he saw Hinata standing on her own, gazing serenely into the ocean's dark depths.

She sensed his presence and immediately felt nervous. As she turned round to look at him, however, he gave her a kind smile. Not the cheeky grin that he usually wore. It was a gentle smile.

_Oh Naruto-kun,_ she thought to herself. _I admire you so much. It was you who inspired me, you who gave me the strength to have the will to change, to become stronger._

Even in the darkening night, Naruto could swear he saw her blush. Feeling a hotness creeping up his neck and face, Naruto went hastily on his way.

* * *

"So what did they want with him, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, leaning his hands on the Fifth's paper-laden desk.

"Probably after the secret of Byakugan, I suppose. Anyway, the important thing is, he's back and everyone is alive and unharmed."

"You don't loom or sound like you believe yourself, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade looked at the Copy-Ninja for a few minutes before replying. "I think you know the answer to that, Kakashi."

Kakashi's right eye betrayed a look of fear for a second. Tsunade noticed it.

"So they know she lives?" he asked.

"When they came back, they told me that someone had turned up and interrupted the fight," said Tsunade, not answering his question. "Shikamaru says that person knew their names and probably was the same person who had followed them when they had left Konoha."

"Left Konoha!" Kakashi slapped his own forehead.

"Calm down, Kakashi. She is grown up now. She's not the same scared girl she used to be. She wants answers, answers we can't give her."

"Tsunade-sama, if they realize that she is still alive, she may be in great danger."

"I am aware of that, Kakashi. But you know that, for now, we can do nothing. What's important is that for now all our ninja are safe and sound. We will have to deal with the trouble only if and when it comes our way."

* * *

"Who was that girl?"

"Do I look like I know, Naruto?"

"Well, you're the smart one, Shikamaru."

"How troublesome."

Naruto, Shikamaru and Kiba were seated atop a water tower. It was only early afternoon. Kakashi-sensei had gone to see the Hokage. Neji was summoned by her not long afterwards. Sakura had been training. Sasuke, well neither of them knew where the young Uchiha was.

"But did you see her face?" said Kiba.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "Looked familiar, didn't she?"

Shikamaru was lost in thought. That girl's face. Her hair. Her eyes. That look in her eyes. Her movements. They were all too familiar. And yet he was sure none of them had ever seen her before.

* * *

Tsunade had sent Haruno Sakura home when Kakashi and then Neji had come to see her. Now her head ached and the mountain of paperwork on her desk did nothing to soothe her. Konoha, peaceful Konoha, quiet as it tended to be, had its own secrets. The secret in question now … well, it was best kept secret. 


	6. Chapter 6

Hello all. Sorry I haven't updated all week. Had a lot to do at school. A Levels is no joke, man!  
Anyway, here's the next chapter. Please RnR. Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and I do not own Naruto and sadly never ever will.

**

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 6**

_**Many weeks later …**_

"Shizune!"

"Tsunade-sama?"

"We have a requested escort mission here. B-rank. To Gomanato Village. The client has requested the best ninja available. Who do we have?"

Shizune shuffled the papers at hand then said, "Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Neji, Tsunade-sama."

"The others?"

"Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji should be back tomorrow morning. Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino left yesterday afternoon."

"And Naruto?"

"He and Jiraiya-sama should return in the morning."

"Unless that pervert decides to take a detour, that is." Tsunade sighed. "Very well. Send Haruno Sakura with the Uchiha and Hyuuga."

"Who's the client?"

"A merchant named Anato. Send word to them immediately. They should leave tomorrow morning."

"Hai."

"Hey, you guys are good, right?"

The three shinobi gave the man piercing looks.

"Hey, hey," he said, raising his hands and smiling.

"We are experienced ninja, if that's what you mean," said Sasuke sternly.

"Of course, of course," said Anato.

Sasuke and Neji walked ahead of the man while Sakura made up the rear. She did not like the way the client kept turning back to smile at her, though. He had a pale, pointed face with shoulder-length white hair. In Sakura's opinion, he looked much too young to be a merchant. Perhaps she was just used to the idea that merchants were supposed to be wizened men, but she did not fully believe that he was a business man, or that Anato was his real name either. He just didn't look it. Then again, he could have his own reasons for not revealing his true identity to them.

They stopped at noon. Anato rested under a tree. Sakura and Neji kept watch while Sasuke consulted a map to ensure that they were still headed in the right direction. Anato eventually succeeded in catching Sakura's eye.

"What is it, Anato-sama?" she asked warily.

"Oh, nothing," he said, waving his hand to dismiss her question. "Just wondering why more and more pretty young ladies like you choose to become ninja."

Sakura did not answer. She did not think there was a need to do so.

"Being the busy ninja that you are, I'll bet you don't have too much time for socializing," continued Anato.

"I don't quite understand what you mean," said the pink-haired chuunin.

Anato chuckled. "So no handsome young man has caught your eye, then?"

Sakura was taken aback by this inquiry. She was saved the trouble of thinking of a reply when Sasuke quickly got up, folded the map and said, "We should get going. We want to get to Gomanato was soon as possible."

Anato fell into step behind the two young men, Sakura once again bringing up the rear.

Anato turned and smiled at Sakura yet again. What was that, the twelfth time now? Sakura was tiring of it and couldn't even be polite enough to return the gesture again. Not that she wanted to, anyway. She wished he would stop trying to get her attention.

"You must have entered a ninja academy of some sort at a very young age," said Anato. Sakura made no reply.

"A pretty lady like you — I won't say I'm not surprised you're cut out for being a ninja." Sakura still made no reply.

"You must be very good at ninja techniques." Sakura tried to force a weary smile, but doubted very much that she'd succeeded. Anato chuckled again. Did he think that he was charming? Sakura wished he would shut up and leave her alone. If there were people after him that this turned out to be a B-rank mission, she'd probably side with his attackers.

"So tell me," Anato went on as if he'd been having a friendly conversation with the female shinobi all this time, falling into step beside her. "Has any boy won your tender heart? Or does it fly free as a bird?"

Sakura kept considerable distance from the man. "Anato-sama," she said, a serious look on her face, "that is none of your business. Neither is it a topic I should wish to discuss."

"Ah, so perhaps there is a young man. But doesn't look like you are bound to him, eh?" Sakura was getting very annoyed now.

"Anato-sama," said Neji austerely, without turning, "please keep your voice down. We are deeper in the forest now and it is almost sunset. We should be wary of thieves and bandits and such."

"Hai, hai," Anato chuckled again.

They set up camp in a small cave. The three shinobi agreed that Neji should be the first to keep watch, followed by Sasuke, and finally Sakura.

"Get some rest," said Sasuke to Anato. "We'll start early in the morning."

Anato slept close to the fire. Sakura refused to even enter the cave until Anato had fallen asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Here we are again. I do not own Naruto. I wish I did but I never will. There. Now lets go on. **

* * *

CHAPTER 7

The next morning, Neji made up the rear so that Sakura would no longer have to endure Anato's flirting.

"We should reach Gomanato by late afternoon," Sasuke announced.

"Ah, good, good," said Anato. "Perhaps you'd like to have dinner and rest at my house? Only as a token of my appreciation for you three escorting me all the way to Gomanato."

Neither of the shinobi made any reply for at that moment, Sakura halted as a kunai pierced the ground at her feet.

"What's wrong?" asked Anato. "Why are we stopping?"

"Shut up," said Sakura, as the three ninjas whipped out weapons. More kunai came flying and the three chuunin parried all of them. Sakura caught two and threw them at the bushes. Four masked men came out of hiding.

"Why don't you cooperate with us and we don't give you any trouble?" said one, sneering and revealing several sharp knives.

"Yeah," said another with long, tangled hair. "Just give us all your money. That guy in the middle looks like he has a lot to offer."

"But you obviously won't cooperate, will you?" said the third.

"In that case," said the fourth and fattest of them all, "we'll just have to kill you two handsome boys and the man, take his purse, and make off with the girl, too."

Without warning, the four men sprang forward, sharp knives preceding them.

"Sakura, guard Anato!" said Sasuke.

"Hai." Sakura moved into defensive position while Sasuke and Neji battled the thieves who turned out to be surprisingly good fighters. Out of nowhere, a fifth man jumped down and immediately engaged Sakura in fierce taijitsu combat. Five minutes later, a sixth man arrived, but Sakura prevented him from getting to Anato. Now all three shinobi were fighting two masked men each.

* * *

Both men ran at the ninja, but she pushed Anato out of harms way and jumped to avoid their attacks. One threw two shuriken at her. He sneered when he saw them pierce her body. Red blood sprayed. But a moment later, she had turned into a log which fell loudly to the ground. 

"Replacement technique?" said the man, his eyes darting everywhere, searching for her.

The other man cried out as Sakura came from behind the trees and stabbed him in the stomach. She delivered a punch so strong to the other's face that it sent him flying.

A hand grabbed her wrist. "Come on, Sakura! We have to move!" said Sasuke. She followed him through the trees, leaving the injured men behind.

"Where are Neji and Anato?" she asked as they sped from branch to branch.

"Probably a bit ahead of us," Sasuke replied. "We had to get Anato out of danger. Never mind that now. We have to lose those guys."

"Hai." But as they went faster, Sakura wondered. She had been the one supposed to protect Anato back there. She had been quite some distance away from Sasuke, Neji and the four men they were battling with. How could any of them, even if it had been Neji or Sasuke, come and take him without her knowing so quickly? But then, she remembered that she did not see him when she had come from behind the trees to attack the two masked men. But still, she had been very alert. How could she not have sensed someone else's approaching presence?

An hour later, they stopped to rest.

"I think we've lost them," said Sakura as she sat on a log.

"Hn. I think so," replied Sasuke. He remained standing.

"Where are Neji and Anato?" Sakura asked again.

"They should be waiting for us a little farther ahead."

"Shouldn't we be catching up to them, in that case?"

"Yes, we should. But aren't you tired?"

Sakura looked up, surprised by this show of concern. "I'm fine," she said. "We should catch up to Neji."

Sasuke nodded; Sakura got to her feet and they leapt quickly away.

* * *

Sakura sat on a rock by a stream. "It's getting dark and we still haven't caught up to them." 

"Maybe they went on instead of waiting for us," reasoned the dark-haired young man.

"That's not like Neji at all."

"Something may have come up. Perhaps it wasn't safe for them to sit and wait. I'm sure if we start before sunrise we'll get to them in no time," said Sasuke, starting a fire.

"Hn."

* * *

Sasuke pulled out provisions from his backpack and handed some to Sakura who nibbled on a piece slowly. Something was different about Sasuke. He never showed any concern for anyone other than himself, much less towards her. When had he changed? This show of concern for her well being, coupled with the fact that he was treating their separation from their teammate and client lightly, made her quite uneasy. 

Sakura went to get some water from the stream. She tripped over a protruding tree root, but Sasuke caught her and set her upright again. He did not, however, let go of her. He stood there, holding her upper arms, his dark eyes boring into her green ones.

Not understanding why he was acting as he was, she instinctively took a few steps backward. In doing so, her foot came in contact again with the tree root. Next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground, with Sasuke on top of her. The immense awkwardness of the situation catching up with them, they scrambled to their feet, keeping clear of the damned tree root.

Sakura stood there, not looking at him, feeling her face and neck grow hot. Somehow she knew this was never supposed to happen with Sasuke. _Has the world gone upside down?_ she thought to herself, sparing him a quick glance. He too was turned away.

The best thing to do was to probably pretend nothing had happened at all. So she decided to pick up where she had left off getting water from the stream. But she had taken only one step when the dark-haired young man rammed her into the tree behind her and pressed his lips to hers. She was too shocked to react. She was squeezed between the rough bark of the tree and his strong body. His tongue demanded entry; she yielded, and parted her lips. He pushed his tongue deep into her mouth, managing to pull a moan from her. He ran his fingers through her hair. Her knees felt weak and she involuntarily hung on to him for support. She could feel her heart racing and her breathing quickened. He kissed her neck, making her groan. He began to unzip her shirt. She was as yet unable to gain enough control of her hands to stop him. But before he could stroke her breast, she pushed his hand away.

His face was so close to hers. He held her gaze so that she could not look away. She was now breathing in short gasping pants.

_This isn't right_, she thought frantically. _It isn't supposed to be like this. You're not supposed to be like this, Sasuke-kun. This isn't you._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a passionate, fiery kiss. His tongue forced entry and he wildly explored her mouth, while one hand ran through her hair and the other up and down her back, sending chills down her spine. This time, she allowed herself to kiss him back. It felt so good. And yet, what was this strong feeling that something was terribly wrong?

Sakura felt a sharp pain behind her ear. She broke the kiss, but before she could do anything else, before she could react to the pain, she knew no more.

* * *

**I love this chapter! The sory is finally getting a move on. Btw, The Six Winds, Anato, and Gomanato Village are characters and locations that I have invented and do not exist in the Naruto Anime or Manga. There may be a few more yet to come. Hope you enjoyed this one. Please review and tell me if you like this story or hate it. hehe. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here we are again. The plot unfolds...  
I do not own naruto or Naruto characters. **

* * *

CHAPTER 8

_Kase!_ Neji cursed inwardly. They had searched for hours to no avail and it was now dark. The night was getting old. Their quarry, moving fast, had gotten away quickly, stopping only once for a short while. But Neji dared not lose hope. He scanned the area with Byakugan, veins erupting around his eyes. This time, what he saw boded both good and ill. The veins around his eyes disappeared; Neji gritted his teeth.

"Sasuke-kun! Hurry!" he said, leaping away quickly.

"Neji, did you see them?" asked Sasuke, speeding up after him.

"Hai. They've stopped."

"Where?"

"By a stream. Not too far away."

"Is she alright?"

When the lavender-pearl-eyed boy did not reply, Sasuke repeated his question more urgently.

"She's not standing. That's all I can say. I won't make any assumptions. He's seated by the stream."

"I hope we're wrong, Neji. I hope we're wrong."

The two shinobi sped even faster through the night.

Sakura opened her eyes. She saw a gray stone ceiling, lit by a few candles on a rusty chandelier. She couldn't move her arms. She straightened her head. Her neck ached. Her head throbbed. She strained her cloudy mind to remember what happened last night.

Last night! What happened last night was …

Sakura looked around the room. It was quite small and empty save the chair she was now chained to by the wrists and ankles. Right across the room, in front of her, was a plain wooden door. She heard steps on the other side. They were getting louder. Her stomach squirmed.

_Guess I'm going to find out the reason to last night's bad feeling_, she thought.

She heard a key turn in the lock and the door swung open. Sakura gasped.

"Ah, you're awake, my sweet strawberry."

The sun shone brilliantly. Birds sang and flew to and fro. The two geniuses stood silently on the thick branch. Neji was again scanning the surrounding area with his Byakugan.

Sasuke balled his hands into fists. Anato had been a suspicious character from the very beginning. Sasuke did not like the idea that both he and Haruno Sakura were now missing. There was a chance that Sakura had herself moved Anato away from the fight scene; a chance that she had had to get away for the sake of the mission. But he had seen her fighting to strong men. She had stabbed one of them. That was before the genjitsu came into operation. He could easily see through it with his sharingan and he got Neji and himself out of the illusionary technique within minutes. But by then, Sakura and Anato had disappeared. He did not like to think what might have happened or what could yet happen to her.

"Well, what do you see, Neji?"

The veins around Neji's eyes receded. "Nothing," he said. "I don't see either of them."

Neji saw Sasuke's knuckles turn white. Neji had not told him what he had seen last night. When he saw them by the stream, Sakura's chakra flow had been tampered with. He knew Sakura to have remarkable chakra control abilities and her chakra signature was unique in that it was not like most other chakra signatures. Hers was active and that combined with her ability was what gave her and the Fifth Hokage their superhuman strength. Last night, far away though she was, he knew she had been forcefully incapacitated.

Neji touched the area below his left ear. That was where both he and Hatake Kakashi had been pierced. Kakashi-sensei had nearly died, but he, Neji, only lost consciousness. And as far as he could tell, Sakura was very much alive.

"Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

"I have a feeling we've dealt with these people before."

Sasuke looked at the Hyuuga. "What do you mean?"

"Whoever has taken Haruno Sakura has not abducted her because they want something from her."

"So you mean she's a lure?"

Neji nodded at the Uchiha. "Exactly. She's bait."

"Bait for what? For who?"

"I don't know. But you remember your last rescue mission?"

Sasuke thought for a minute. "You mean you we're also just bait. You were a lure for something else."

"Or someone else."

Sasuke frowned. "That girl."

* * *

**So now you have something to think about. So the plot slowly reveals itself...  
I'll try to update asap. I usually write on paper during the school days. GCE Advanced Level is no joke people. Anyway, I tye it on my computer during the weekend so that's usually when I'll get itpublished here. Please bear with me. Or not. Your choice really. Anyway, hope you like this story. I appreciate reviews and comments/criticisms. Till next time then. **


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

"It's been too long, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade looked up at the copy-nin then sighed. She took another shot of sake. "I know it has. And I don't have good feelings about it either."

"Hokage-sama, you know that Gomanato village is at most two days from Konoha. They should have been back by now. And my instincts tell me something is very wrong."

* * *

Gomanato village looked calm. The village was smaller than Konoha, but the atmosphere was much the same. Neji and Sasuke had spent two days here already but had still not found out anything about Anato and the pink kunoichi or their whereabouts. They had tried asking around, but not many people seemed to recognize the name Anato. Those who did only shook their heads when they mentioned they were looking for a man.

"_Kase! _We don't have time to waste," muttered Neji darkly.

"I know that," said Sasuke. "But we have nothing to work on. We need information; we don't seem to be getting any."

Neji glanced at the Uchiha for a moment. The Hyuuga genius had of late often wondered what Haruno Sakura had meant to Uchiha Sasuke. After all, he had walked away from Konoha and everyone in it when he was about thirteen. Neji wasn't quite sure what it was that made the young avenger return to Konoha over four years later. Especially since the infamous Itachi was still alive somewhere out there. But he was now very different from the old Sasuke they had known.

Neji's thoughts were interrupted by a distant voice:

"_Ohayo, Anato Tsanichi! How's the business going?_"

The Konoha shinobi spun round. They walked quickly towards a blonde woman carrying a basket. She was waving to her friends.

"Anato Tsanichi?" said Sasuke.

The woman looked up at the two young men, surprised. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"We're looking for someone. He shares your surname."

"You must mean my brother," said the woman, smiling. "He went on a business journey several weeks ago and still hasn't returned."

The two shinobi looked at each other.

"Is something the matter? Has something happened concerning my brother?" asked the woman.

"We're going to need to ask you a few questions about your brother, Tsanichi-san," said Neji.

* * *

The house was fairly small. The two shinobi sat at a small kitchen table. The woman offered them some tea.

"My brother's name is Tsuno. That's what most of the people of this village know him by." Tsanichi smiled and sat opposite the shinobi, clutching her own cup of tea.

"Our business started as a small shop. Progress has been slow, but the store is bigger now — we shifted premises — and the trade is much better nowadays. Our yearly income has increased greatly since we first started." Tsanichi smiled and sipped her tea. Her expression turned somber. "He's a good man, Tsuno. But I'm afraid he may have gotten into … um … well, the wrong company."

"What do you mean, Tsanichi-san?" asked Neji. Tsanichi sighed.

"Tsuno nii-chan changed after that encounter."

"Encounter? What encounter? With whom?" said Neji. He glanced at Sasuke. There was a dangerous look on his face. Neji knew exactly what was running through the Uchiha's mind: only one man wrought such drastic changes in the people he came across. Neji waited with dread to hear it.

"I do not know the name," said Tsanichi. "But Tsuno nii-chan said he was going to help with our trade. He said he was going to help us."

Her hands held the cup tightly, her brown eyes staring into its contents.

_**

* * *

FLASHBACK**_

"_Tsuno nii-chan, where are you going?" she asked her elder brother._

_Tsuno smiled at his sister. "I'm going on a little trip, Tsanichi," he said. "I won't be gone for long. Just a week or two. I want you to take care of the store while I'm gone." He hitched a backpack more securely onto his shoulder. He turned to walk out the door but his sister grabbed his arm._

"_Are you going to see that man again?" she asked fearfully. Tsuno turned to face the young woman again._

"_Tsanichi, why are you so frightened?" he asked, lifting her down-turned face gently by the chin._

"_I don't like that man," she said warily. "I don't trust him."_

_Tsuno just smiled at his sister. "Tsanichi, he's helping with our trade. You see how much better things have become? He helped us get here. He helped me land a few good deals in the last village market we visited."_

_Tsanichi tried to force a smile._

"_There," said Tsuno, "you look so much nicer when you smile." He stroked her blonde head. "I'll only be gone for a week or two. I'll be back before you know it."_

_He planted a kiss on her forehead and left._****

END OF FLASHBACK

* * *

"That was the last I saw of the Tsuno nii-chan that I knew," said Tsanichi sadly.

"What do you mean, Tsanichi-san?" asked Sasuke.

The woman looked up at him with mournful eyes. Sasuke shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Tsanichi took a sip of her tea.

"He came back two weeks later, just like he'd said he would," Tsanichi went on. "But he was not the same Tsuno. He was no longer _my_ Tsuno nii-chan."

_**

* * *

FLASHBACK**_

_The door opened and Tsanichi ran to greet her brother. She hugged him round the waist, pressing her head to his chest as he entered the house. "Tsuno nii-chan! You're back!" she exclaimed._

_But Tsuno did not hug her back as he usually did. He did not kiss her head. "Hai, I'm back," was all he said. She let go of him and looked up at his face. He was smiling. But she noticed that the warmth in his smile was gone._

**_END OF FLASHBACK _**

* * *

A tear slid down Tsanichi's cheek. "After that, things changed. All Tsuno discussed with me was business. All he cared about was gaining more and more and more. The business grew. The location of this village is quite good for business and our trade prospered. But then, after that — " Tsanichi broke off. She took a sip of tea to steel herself. The two shinobi waited patiently for her to go on.

"He would go on frequent business trips away from Gomanato. He called them business trips but I knew not all of them were. I tried my best to believe him but I knew something was wrong."

_**

* * *

FLASHBACK**_

_Tsanichi paused as she heard voices on the other side of the kitchen door._

"_You don't trust me, Anato Tsuno?" drawled one man's voice._

"_Yes, I do," said Tsuno hesitantly. "But — "_

"_Your dear Tsanichi-san will be safe. My master will see to that himself. Come with me and you will attain more power and wealth than you can ever imagine."_

_There was a silence. Then the man's voice spoke again. "You can fulfill your father's dream. You can excel in your trade. You can bring down those who stole her father's life from you. Destroy those who took everything from you when you were just a young boy. You can give your sister the life you know both you and your father want for her."_

_There was a long silence. Tsanichi could tell that her brother was considering the offer. She remembered the day her father had been broken. The day she had seen him on his knees. The day she had seen him beg._

_She remembered that the men had burst into the house. They demanded more than thrice the amount their father had loaned from them to pay for the medicines for his sick son. The day of payment had not yet come. It would not be for a week more. Her father protested. They had initially demanded only twenty per cent interest. Now they were demanding thrice the sum._

_When her father said that he didn't have that kind of money at hand, they threatened to further increase the sum and kidnap his children. With that, they left him only twenty four hours to get the money. Tsanichi had never seen her father that worried. All night he tugged at his white hair, at a loss. Tsanichi was left to care for her brother through the night._

_They came again the next afternoon just as they had promised they would. Her father offered them all he had. But they were not satisfied. She remembered them hurting her father. She remembered how he tried not to show it in front of his daughter. They left him wounded. They took all his possessions; they left his shop in ruins. They left his ten-year-old son and his six-year-old daughter orphans with nowhere to go._

_The men responsible got away with their crime, making other people pay for their wrongs. Meanwhile, they grew richer and richer. They prospered in unfair trade and blackmail._

_When they grew up, Tsuno and Tsanichi worked hard to rebuild their family's business, their father's dream. Tsuno swore the would fulfill that which his father so desired — the future generations of the Anato family should not have to struggle as hard as they did; that they should prosper and the village too with their trade. _

_Tsuno had done well so far. And their life was a good one. This strange man, however, had wrought a drastic change in her once loving, caring, compassionate brother; wrought in him a hunger for power and revenge._

_Tsanichi's hands shook and the plates she held clinked noisily. She steadied her hands and stepped closer to the kitchen door._

"_you can give me power?" she heard her brother say._

"_More power than you can ever imagine," said the man's voice. "You can destroy those who stole everything from you without mercy when you were only ten. Make them pay."_

"_And you say all I have to do is join you and your master?"_

"_Hai. If you stay in this village, you cannot attain that which you are so generously offered. You will not grow strong. You will be only as much as your father. You do not want that which happened to you to happen to your children one day."_

"_And what of my sister?"_

"_She will be safer here."_

"_I will go with you then. As long as you give me that power."_

_There was a loud crash as Tsanichi dropped the plates she was carrying._

**_END OF FLASHBACK _**

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Neji took the cup from Tsanichi. He then gently laid both her hands on the table. She had been shaking, spilling her drink.

"We need to know where your brother may be now, Tsanichi-san," said Neji. And he told her about the 'mission' that they had been sent on to escort Tsuno to Gomanato.

"So we think that he may be with your brother," Neji finished. He met Sasuke's eye briefly. He had not exactly told Tsanichi the whole truth, but this was just another precaution that they had to take. Besides, it would probably not make any difference to Tsanichi whether or not she thought their 'friend', who in truth was Sakura, was a boy or a girl.

The woman got up and started pacing back and forth across the kitchen, biting her nails.

"We have to find him," said Sasuke.

"You have to find him so that you can find your friend," she said.

"Hai," said Neji, "But in order to do that, we need to know where your brother is. We need you to tell us where he is."

Tsanichi stopped pacing. She stood facing the stove, her back to the two young men.

"I will tell you where I think he may be," she said quietly few minutes later. "But you must promise me one thing."

"What is it, Tsanichi-san?" asked Neji.

"I do not ask you to bring my brother back," said the blonde woman. "He is too far gone. More than five years now he has been this new power-seeking person."

Neji saw Sasuke shift uneasily in his seat, though the Uchiha's eyes remained expressionless.

Sasuke was getting uncomfortable listening to Tsanichi. The look in her eyes when she mentioned the loss of her beloved brother reminded him painfully of Sakura when he had turned his back on her and all of Konoha years ago.

"Nobody can force Tsuno to return. He has grown stubborn. And he hasn't returned here in months. Promise me you will tell him that I still love him. Tell him I will always wait here for him; that I will never stop praying for him to come home." She turned to face the two young men.

The Konoha shinobi nodded wordlessly at her. Neji had no words and Sasuke had no voice to speak. Why was this woman constantly reminding him of the pain he had caused Sakura?

* * *

"Arigatou, Tsanichi-san," said Neji.

Tsanichi smiled and made a little bow. "Be careful," she said.

The shinobi nodded and turned to leave. But Tsanichi grabbed Sasuke's arm. Sasuke turned inquiringly. The woman's grip was surprisingly strong. She pushed something cold into his hand.

"Tsuno gave me this when I was twelve," she murmured. Sasuke understood what she wanted. He nodded. But she still did not let go. Sasuke could see Neji waiting some distance away.

"Your friend," whispered Tsanichi. She look up at the Uchiha. Sasuke resisted the urge to turn his face away. The sad look in her eyes was only too similar to the look a pair of green orbs had had when he had mercilessly left them years before.

"Take care of _her_."

Tsanichi smiled at the shock Sasuke's eyes betrayed for a split second before once again becoming unreadable. She let go of his arm.

Sasuke pocketed the necklace, jogged up to Neji and they soared away.

* * *

"What do you want from me?" Sakura asked.

They had moved her to another room. She was no longer on a chair. Now she was chained the wall by the ankles and wrists. The bad news was, the chains were in some way repressing her chakra. She could not break free. She was only barely able to keep her eyes open and stay more or less alert.

"You are an amazing ninja, Sakura-san. And you have a fiery spirit," the hooded man in front of her chuckled.

Sakura gritted her teeth. "What do you want?" she repeated calmly.

"Calm as ever. I like that. I will enjoy breaking your spirit." The man laughed. "But I will tell you what really want, since you have impressed me so."

Sakura saw him grin evilly.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shouted as she ran. She burst into the Hokage's office without knocking. She came to a screeching halt and bent over, panting slightly.

"What is the meaning of this, Shizune!" shouted the Hokage.

Unable to speak as yet, Shizune trust a paper in the blonde woman's face. Tsunade's eyes darted left and right as she read the paper. When she had finished, she clasped her hands and calmly rested her elbows on the table — her usual position when she was about to deal with something serious.

"Shizune," she addressed the attendant serenely. Shizune looked up. "Round up the available ninja and send them here."

Shizune's eyes widened.

"But Tsunade-sama!" she protested. "The other jounin are out on missions and— "

"I know, Shizune," said the Fifth calmly. "But this cannot wait. I myself would prefer to wait for Hatake Kakashi's return from his mission, but this is an urgent situation. It cannot wait. Go and bring in able ninja."

"Tsunade-sama, you can't — "

"GO!" shouted Tsunade, rising from her seat. Shizune ran from the office, closely followed by Ton-ton, the fat piglet.

Tsunade sat back down, clasped her hands together in front of her face, her elbows on the desk, her eyes closed.

'_What are you going to do?' _she thought. _'What are you planning … Orochimaru?'_


	11. Chapter 11

_I don't know of any other way to say this, but I do not own Naruto._

**CHAPTER 11**

Tsunade eyed the group assembled in her office and frowned. There was one person missing and it was quite unlike him to ignore a summon to the Hokage's office for a mission.

"Where's Naruto?" she asked, glaring at Shizune.

But before Shizune could reply, the door burst open and a blonde in a black and orange outfit was dragged into the room by two men.

"Hey, Tsunade-baa-chan!" he said loudly, as the men threw him bodily at the Hokage's desk and left the room, slamming the door loudly behind them.

"What's the meaning of having them chase me to and drag me all the way from Ichiraku's, eh?"

Naruto received a sharp blow to the head, resulting in a huge lump.

"Baka! I summoned you and the other chuunin here. You were told to come immediately not to stop for ramen! I thought you'd been impatiently waiting for a mission?" shouted the Hokage.

"Mission, obaa-chan?" said Naruto weakly, rubbing the lump on his head.

"Obviously you didn't hear what they were shouting at you while you tried to dodge them, dobe," said Shikamaru.

Naruto tried to jump at the shadow nin but was restrained by Kiba and Shino. "Why you — " he hissed, annoyed that Shikamaru had not even made a move to defend himself but was simply rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

Shikamaru sighed. "How troublesome."

"That's enough! Naruto, calm down or I assure you, you won't be having any missions for as long as I am Hokage!" threatened the Fifth, leaning over her desk and shouting into Naruto's face.

Naruto blinked. He stopped trying to claw at Shikamaru's face. Shino and Kiba released him.

"YAAA! Obaa-chan! Gomen, gomen! I'll calm down!" said the blond, his eyes wide.

Tsunade sat back down. She had a serious look on her face once more.

"Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata."

The five shinobi turned towards the Fifth. The look on her face was a scary one.

"You have a mission. On this particular mission, given the rank and the dangers involved, I would have sent jounin; but this is an emergency and we cannot afford to waste any more time waiting."

"This mission," said Shikamaru, "It's linked somehow with Neji's, Sasuke's and Sakura's, isn't it?"

The Hokage nodded. "But that mission has been aborted."

"Aborted? Why?" asked Kiba.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances," replied the Hokage. "Now, we have no time to waste, so listen carefully."

* * *

The two shinobi sat opposite each other by the fire. Neji saw Sasuke staring into the flames. He said nothing. Instead, he found himself doing the exact same thing.

* * *

Five shinobi sped from branch to branch, leaving Konoha far behind.

"How are we going to find them?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about that," said Kiba. He turned to his dog. "Akamaru, remember Neji's, Sasuke's and Sakura's scents?" The white puppy barked. "Okay then," said Kiba. "We'll have to trust Akamaru's nose.

"Hinata," said a boy with dark glasses and a funnel collar up to his eyes.

"Shino-kun?"

"You scout ahead from time to time with your Byakugan."

"Hai."

Uzumaki Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet.

* * *

"Which direction, Neji?" asked Sasuke.

"Byakugan!" Veins erupted around the Hyuuga's lavender-pearl eyes. A minute later the veins disappeared and consulted his compass. "This way," said Neji, pointing.

"Hai."

The two shinobi leapt away in the direction indicated.

"It can't be much farther now," said Neji. "We should reach the landmark by nightfall."

Sasuke nodded. There was not much use in saying anything now. Their first option had been to return to Konoha and enlist the aid of the other ninja. But after the first night, returning to Konoha was no longer an option. They would have wasted precious time and put Sakura in even greater danger. In the end, they had no choice but to go after their comrade themselves and hope that, somehow, someone in Konoha would realize something was wrong and send other ninja to help them. For now, they had to go after Sakura by themselves. Hopefully they were not too late.

* * *

Tsunade stood looking placidly out her office window, her brow creased with worry. She was waiting for Shizune and Ton-ton to return and it was consuming all of her self control. She managed to refrain from throwing her chair out the window again by re-reading the piece of paper that Shizune had thrust into her face earlier that day.

Though the note did not mention his name, nor in fact did it have any hint of him at all, Tsunade knew that Orochimaru was the cause of all this. She didn't know how, but she just knew. And that knowledge did not ease her mind at all.

A few minutes later, Shizune walked into the office. When the Fifth Hokage did not address her, she spoke up.

"Tsunade-sama, I searched everywhere."

Tsunade still said nothing.

"She's not in Konoha," said Shizune firmly.

""I know," sighed Tsunade. "It was to be expected."

"To be expected, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune repeated, surprised. She had expected the Hokage to be agitated, perhaps start shouting or barking orders for the girl's retrieval. What she did not expect was for Tsunade to sit calmly at her desk and say 'to be expected'.

Tsunade looked up at her assistant. "Shizune, it will not be of any help to go after her and _try_ to bring her back."

"But, Tsunade-sama! She's in grave danger. We can't just let her go running off into a trap! It's what they want!"

"Shizune," said Tsunade calmly, "Think of her situation as being almost the same as Naruto's had once been. She may even be more unfortunate than him. The only two people she can find answers in are out there and it is those two who are in great need now."

"Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Hai."

"So, Tsunade-sama, she really is — ?"

Tsunade nodded. "Being who she is, she was not safe after the slaughter of the Uchiha clan. She was brought out of Konoha and raised by selected Leaf ninja. But there were few in whom she had complete trust."

"Who, Tsunade-sama?"

"Kurenai was one. I myself taught her for a short while when she was very young. She and Anko got along very well together; though that's not surprising since Anko could relate to her troubles."

"So, who is her guardian now?"

"The only man she trusts."

"The only man?" Shizune repeated. Come to think of it, Tsunade, Kurenai and Anko were all women. "Who is that, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade did not answer for a minute. "Shizune, she has been on Konoha for only almost a year."

"Hai," said the attendant. "So, this man has been her guardian only since then?"

"That's correct. But he has been guiding and teaching her along with Kurenai and Anko for many years more while she lived outside the village."

"Who, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked again.

"One of the only people who could help her develop and use her inborn abilities — Hatake Kakashi."


	12. Chapter 12

_There is no other interesting way for me to say this again and again, so please burn it into your minds:  
I could wish I did but I don't so let's be thankful for that. It's all yours, Kimi-sama._

**CHAPTER 12**

The sun was setting. Five shinobi and a dog leapt quickly from branch to branch.

"Hinata, can you scan ahead for us?"

"Hai, Shino-kun. _Byakugan!_" Veins erupted around the Hyuuga girl's eyes. She searched the area up front, desperate for a sign of her cousin. She tried in vain to catch a glimpse of the Hyuuga boy's chakra signature which she memorized very well.

"Nothing," she said minutes later. "I don't know how far away they could be."

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan. We'll find them," said a voice calmly.

Hinata turned towards the familiar voice but faced forwards again as she blushed beet red. _'Naruto-kun just called me Hinata-chan!' _

Even Kiba glanced momentarily at the blond before saying, "That's right, Hinata. They can't be far away now."

Akamaru barked in quick succession. "Oi," said Kiba to the group at large, "Akamaru says we're catching up to them."

"Are they traveling in a southerly direction then," said Shino.

"Possibly," Shikamaru volunteered. "But I'm inclined to think they might be traveling west."

"How do you know that, Nara?" asked Kiba, his expression calculating.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "How would you know in which direction they're traveling? It's not like we have a tracking device or one of Shino's bugs on them."

Shikamaru sighed. "Dobe; Hokage-sama said that Gomanato village is at most two days north-east from Konoha. If Neji and Sasuke had continued north-east, then we should have a hard time catching up with them since they would also be moving fast. Had they been traveling south, we should have met them going in the opposite direction yesterday. Or at least Hinata should have gotten a glimpse of them. Neither of those events have occurred."

"But Akamaru said their scent is getting stronger," said Kiba. "So that means — "

"That our paths may eventually intersect," Shino concluded.

"That's right," Shikamaru nodded.

Shikamaru looked his comrade. "Kiba."

"Nani?" murmured the dog master, turning towards the shadow nin.

Shikamaru studied Kiba's face and knew at once that Kiba was not intent on revealing the piece of information he had just held back. Shikamaru glanced at Shino who merely shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side, his brow furrowed. So he too understood.

"Nothing," said Shikamaru, staring straight ahead. He would have liked to elaborate, to discuss this new development in their situation, but doing so would only cause Naruto to get fired up for sure. And it was not in their best interests for him to start getting rash and noisy. It was best that they leave him in the dark for now, let him remain as uncharacteristically quiet as he was, until they had found Sasuke and Neji. It was inevitable that Naruto would realize then that the medic nin was missing; that moment when he started raging could wait.

Shikamaru assessed the situation. Kiba said Neji and Sasuke's scents had been getting stronger. But he had made no mention of Sakura. In doing so, he had discreetly conveyed to Shikamaru and Shino that something was terribly wrong. Hinata seemed to have caught on too; though she followed their lead in not mentioning it.

'_He's going to be troublesome'_ thought Shikamaru, imagining a scene with Naruto shouting at all of them for not telling him about their suspicions about Sakura.

* * *

"Sasuke! Behind you!" cried Neji, throwing a shuriken.

Sasuke ducked. He smiled as he heard a dull thud, meaning the shuriken had found its mark. And done its job. He leapt onto a high tree branch. He watched as Neji propelled their three opponents high into the air with a series of quick attacks. Sasuke made several hand seals as soon as Neji had joined him.

"**_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_** Sasuke spat fire from his mouth. The dark forest glowed eerily orange for a moment.

Three men cried out in pain as they fell to the ground. The Leaf shinobi leapt down. The men did not move.

"They can't be more than chuunin level," said Sasuke.

"They must be guards," Neji suggested.

One of the men groaned and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sasuke placed his foot on the man's chest. The man looked up in fear at the dark shadow towering over him. He whimpered.

_Pathetic. _"Neji, what about the other two?" Sasuke asked the Hyuuga without taking his eyes off the man on the ground.

"Dead," said Neji simply.

"Well then," said Sasuke, addressing the whimpering excuse of a man at his feet.

"P-please!" the man stuttered. "D-don't!"

"Huh? Don't what?" Sasuke repeated. He glanced at Neji who raised an eyebrow. Sasuke hadn't even begun to threaten the man.

"Look, I haven't done anything to you yet." Sasuke heaved a weary sigh. "You're getting on my nerves, you know that?" he said, bending over and grabbing the front of the man's shirt.

The sharingan flared crimson and the man sniveled. Neji stopped himself from rolling his eyes with difficulty as terrified tears fell down the man's face.

"You know what we want," said Sasuke.

"P-please!" the man squeaked then he screamed as the white of the Byakugan appeared beside his face.

"Speak and we just might spare your life," said Neji, holding a kunai close to the man's neck. The weapon glinted in the moonlight.

"Look," said Neji in a dangerously calm voice. "We would have left you and your friends alone. But you three, stupid bastards that you are, lame excuses for men, attacked us. So you see, you alone are responsible for your current situation." Neji paused to let the words sink in. The man was visibly trembling.

"If you don't cooperate," Neji went on, "We'll just have you watch us cut up your friends and then we'll kill you … slowly," he added maliciously.

"NO!" the man screamed. "Please! Please!" he cried. He grabbed Sasuke's shirt and flinched as he looked once more at the sharingan then at the Byakugan then back to Sasuke again. "The genjutsu … the entrance … the dead tree by the waterfall!" he blurted. His lips were trembling.

"Good boy," said Neji, and he slit the man's throat.

Sasuke pulled the man's hands off his shirt. They both straightened up. The dojutsu receded: Sasuke's eyes were jet black once more, and the veins around Neji's eyes were gone.

"Was he telling the truth?" said Sasuke.

"You know he was," said Neji. "He was too scared."

"Hn."

"Well then, said Neji, stuffing the kunai back into the weapons holster. "Let's find this dead tree."

* * *

**Next two chapters will take a look at the whatsgoingons of the other side of the story.**

**Thanks for reading and please review. If you do, you'll make someone very happy. :D**

**Ja ne!**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

The man laughed silently at Sakura's feeble attempts to free herself.

It was useless and Sakura knew it. Those chains had been specifically designed to hold someone with great strength. Moreover, they were repressing her chakra.

Sakura slumped onto the floor, leaning onto the damp, cold stone wall. The length of her chains only allowed her to move around a two foot radius, keeping her at least a foot away from the other two walls and three feet from the bars of the cell.

'_Think, Sakura, think!'_ she told herself.

She should have seen it before. The Byakugan and the Sharingan. The other side had always wanted them. So she was just bait. And there as no doubt that her teammates would come for her.

"Stupid, Haruno Sakura, very stupid," she said quietly to herself. Her hands curled into fists. _'How could I have fallen for such a trick!'_ Sakura scolded herself. She was supposed to be an expert in recognizing genjutsu. She was angry. Angry at herself. She had allowed her emotions to cloud her mind.

Maybe it was due to the fact that he had become more distant from her ever since his return to Konoha over a year ago. Or maybe nor. She didn't know. But she was angry at herself. For years she had suppressed her love for Sasuke. So much so that she had _almost _forgotten about him. She had convinced herself he was gone; that he would never come back; that he would never love her. Then he had returned. Still, he hardly ever spoke to her unless absolutely needed. He was almost always in Naruto's company. Sakura was grateful that at least he was back in Konoha. At least she didn't have to cry anymore at night — not so often anyway.

The sound of footsteps interrupted her train of thought. The steel door opened and the hooded man walked in. He bore a tray of food. He laid the tray down just where Sakura could reach it. He didn't cross her invisible line into the danger zone. She wouldn't have tried much anyway. Even if she did manage to kill him or hurt him, what was the point when she was still chained?

When the man had left and locked the steel door and Sakura sensed that she was alone, she examined the bowl of food. She was glad she had asked Tsunade to make her an apprentice all those years ago. She sensed that there was nothing wrong with the bowl of noodles. The water, though, most likely contained a chakra-altering drug or some sleeping medication. Sakura sighed. No point in depriving herself of nutrition. She would need her chakra and strength later.

She pulled the tray towards her and ate the bowl of noodles, throwing the water on the floor.

* * *

The pink haired kunoichi jerked awake after only two hours of sleep. She sensed someone approaching. She heard someone unlocking the steel door to her cell. Sakura could tell it was still night. She pushed herself off the floor and into a sitting position. She rubbed her arms to stimulate blood flow.

She gasped before the door even opened. Chills ran down her spine. That aura…that overwhelming aura of power…evil, murderous power. It was so strong.

But it was only the same hooded man who entered. Whoever was with him, and Sakura was sure there was, remained outside her cell.

"…Hai, hai. Of couse. Whatever you say," the man was mumbling. He stopped just two feet from where Sakura sat.

"What do you want, now, Anato?" she spat, addressing him by name for the first time since she had been held captive.

The man started, but quickly regained his composure. "So you knew?" he sneered. But he was not quite able to conceal all of his surprise.

"I'm not stupid," said Sakura. "Of course I knew."

"Well, that just makes my job easier, Sakura-san," said Anato.

"What do you want?" Sakura repeated.

"We're moving you," he said simply.

"Moving me?"

"To better quarters. Orders from above. Don't be difficult now, Sakura-san, or you'll get hurt."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Precisely what he said," said another voice. "If you don't do as you're told, you'll get hurt _and_ you'll stay in this stinky rat-infested dungeon with no food for the rest of your stay with us."

Sakura strained her eyes to see in the dark. The new speaker's body blocked the light that came from the corridor. But one glance told her everything. The silhouette of that huge weapon was unmistakable. She jumped to her feet.

"Kisame!"

The shark-man nodded. There was no point in trying to overcome that monster. His strength could be said to rival that of the Fifth Hokage. The odds were not in her favour now.

* * *

**I'm really sorry that I took so long to update this. I've had a lot to do at school so I had to put this on hold for a while.  
Anyway, I'll have the next chapters up asap.**

**Please bear with me. And please _review_.**

**Ja ne!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry it took me so long to update this story. My exams are less than a month away so I've been really busy.  
I might get another chapter up again soon (maybe on Friday), but I'll have to take a break after that for some time. I've got to concentrate on my Edexcel GCE A' Level Board Exams. Uh...three months of exams.**

**So, I'll put all my fanfiction on hold after the 25th of March. Sorry 'bout that, it's troublesome, exams, but it can't be helped, ne?**

**But I promise I'll get back to this right after I get those exams overwith okay? Please bear with me. I hope I don't lose readers over the next three months. I'll be back asap. I just have to do well on those exams so my mom doesn't kill me for spending hours on the computer. **

**So wish me luck okay?**

**Anyway, on to the next chapter!**

* * *

CHAPTER 14

Sakura opened her eyes. The light stung and she squinted. She reached up a hand and rubbed her neck. _'Damn that Kisame! His grip is strong.'_ She closed her eyes again but the light from the single flickering candle burned through her eyelids, making her see red. She turned over and pulled the blankets closer around her shivering body, burying her face in the pillows. _'This certainly is much more comfortable than a cold stone floor,'_ she thought.

'_What the - ? Blankets? Pillows? A bed?' _Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright.

Sakura looked around her. _'This certainly doesn't look like the same dungeon I was in,'_ she thought. She was in a small cell, but this time, there was the bed she sat in at one corner long with a small table on top of which sat a lamp. From what she could see by the light of the flickering candle, the room, though bare and stone grey, was immaculately clean. She even smelled a faint perfume in the air. At least there were no rats here, nor was water dripping from the ceiling. By her bed a small circular snow white rug. Across the room, she saw a metal door with elaborate wooden inlays — quite unlike the harsh steel of her previous cell.

But this was still a holding cell no matter how elegant the four-poster bed with its white curtains with gold embroidered edges drawn back by golden ropes and its white sheets with thick white blankets and four fluffy pillows. No ninja ever slept in such a luxurious bed. Shinobi had no time, energy or money to spare on such trivial lavishness.

'_This is still a cage,' _she told herself. There was no window so she must still be underground. The air here, though was not as damp and cold as the air in the dungeons had been.

Sakura hugged her knees and tried to recall how she had gotten here. It had been a few hours past midnight. Anato had entered her cell and told her she was going to be moved to better quarters. She had questioned her captor. Then Kisame, the shark-like Akatsuki member, had revealed himself. She had known there was no use putting up a fight. Then, one of them had appeared behind her, hit a pressure point on her neck (much harder then strictly necessary) and she had lost consciousness. And now she was here on this wonderful bed — still a prisoner.

"So the Akatsuki is involved in this too," she said to herself. "Not much of a surprise, really."

The Byakugan and the Sharingan. Two very powerful dojutsu. _'So I'm just bait to lure them into a trap! There is no doubt Neji and Sasuke-kun will come looking for me. They will be walking straight into a trap and I will be the cause of it!'_

Sakura's hands balled into fists and she clutched at the white blankets.

'_I'm being a burden again.'_ But she would not let the tears spill.

_**Get yourself together, girl! No point in crying! That's not going to help any.**_

Sakura shook her head violently, smiling slightly at Inner Sakura.

Sakura swung her legs out of bed and began pacing the room in an effort to regain self control. Soon her breathing was eased and slow. Her mind was clear and her brain was clearly functioning again.

She looked around again. She could have easily punched through the walls; but since she was still underground, the risked bringing down tons of rock upon herself. She examined the metal door. It was reinforced to withstand a great blow, but she might have a chance of getting that out of the way. But then, she could not possible do that without attracting a lot of attention to herself. Even if she did manage, she would probably not get very far without meeting some opposition. And if the opposition she were to meet was Akatsuki, she was not particularly willing to take the risk.

Sakura spun round and faced the door. That aura. She sensed it again. That strong unmasked aura of malice, hate; of evil, murderous, relentless power. She remembered having sensed it the previous night. That aura was definitely not Anato's, nor was it Kisame's. This aura sent chills down her spine invoking in her both fear and, strangely, a strong hatred.

Sakura could not hear footsteps but she knew that the wielder of this great power was approaching her cell, if not already directly outside it. Sakura heard a key turn and several heavy bolts pushed back. She sensed several seals released. Her brain suddenly went into overdrive:

Akatsuki. This holding cell. Byakugan. Sharingan. She had a feeling the snake-sannin had something to do with this; she was almost sure of it. But if Kisame was here, then that meant …

"_You,_" she hissed through gritted teeth, glaring at the figure that had appeared in the doorway. Behind him she saw thick metal bars — so they had expected her to attempt to break out. She laughed inwardly: she was not stupid. Looking at the bars, though, she could tell she was going to have a hard time bending them.

"Ohayo, Sakura-san. Did you sleep well?" the handsome man in a black coat with red clouds smiled.

"Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

**Okay I know this chapter is a bit short, but like I said, I was really busy.  
Anyway, If I get time before the 25th, we're going to see the chuunin teams again.**

**Please review my story while I go review my lessons and lecture notes. hehe (lame I know) :P**

**Wish me luck! And good luck to whoever else has exams coming up!**

**Ja ne!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, finally the next chapter! Really sorry I took over a month to upload this. I've had a really hectic month of mock exams and now the boards are due to start tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you like this. I'll update ASAP, but I gotta study for the exams too. **

**Thanks a lot to all those who read and reviewed the story! Really gave me the motivation to go ahead and write the next chapter. I Love You All!!!**

**Anyway, on to the story!**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!!**

**

* * *

CHAPTER 15**

The thunder of falling water was almost deafening as Sasuke and Neji made their way down the steep mountain-side. They channeled chakra to their hands and feet and looked for foot- and hand-holds. They eventually reached a narrow ledge.

"Let's rest here for the rest of the afternoon. We can continue our descent when the moon rises," said Neji.

"Hn."

Neji had a shrewd idea what was going through the Uchiha's mind. He didn't care about the tough I-care-for-no-one-but-myself-and-killing-a-certain-man attitude Sasuke kept up — which, incidentally, was very similar to Neji's own. Heck, everyone _knew_ he cared about the pink-haired kunoichi. He just wasn't man enough to admit it even to himself. Neji gave himself a mental kick for the thought, seeing as he himself fell under the same category to some extent.

Neji crept into a sleeping bag and was about to close his eyes when Sasuke, who was seated at the edge of the rock, his legs dangling over, spoke.

"What do you know about that girl, Neji?"

"Huh? You mean the girl we saw on your previous rescue mission?"

"Hai."

"Practically nothing. No one knows even her name, though she seems to know ours. I never saw her before that incident, and I haven't seen her since. She doesn't seem to pose a threat, though. She seems to be on the same side as us."

"Hn."

"But why ask?"

"Because there's a connection somewhere. You know that. Sakura is just bait. So were you. Just bait to draw that girl out from wherever she is. Though I can't imagine what they could want with her."

"We'll find out soon enough," said Neji. "And we might kill that bastard Anato in the process. Or we could torture him enough so that he's in so much pain he's barely alive, but conscious enough to suffer."

Sasuke shrugged indifferently, but Neji knew that the Uchiha might have just cheered up a little bit.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Hyuuga," said Sasuke, turning to face his friend.

"Had what?" said Neji bemused.

"Imagination."

Neji refrained from jumping up and hitting the infamous Uchiha prodigy on his ridiculously raven spiked head.

* * *

Sasuke retired to his own sleeping bag several minutes later. Neji promptly fell asleep. Sasuke, though he lay there with his eyes closed, did not fall asleep. There was little need for one of them to keep watch. He seriously doubted anyone would attack them while thy slept on a precarious cliff ledge. Also, it was still light. But all the same, Sasuke could not bring himself to fall asleep. As much as his body might have been willing, his brain refused to allow it.

Maybe he did fall asleep moments later. If he did, his body rested while his mind kept spinning. The onset of darkness was like a trigger and his eyelids flew open just as the sun had completely set. The moon shone brightly and the stars twinkled down at him. Sasuke sat up and ran his hand through his raven spikes. Something in his gut told him this was gong to be a long night.

Neji awoke within the hour. After a small meal, the two continued on their descent of the steep cliff side. As the night drew on, their descent became more treacherous as the clouds blocked the moonlight, the rocks became more and more slippery with moss, and the two shinobi were constantly sprayed by the thundering falls.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Konoha …

"Hokage-sama —"

"I understand your concern, Kakashi, but I'm afraid I cannot let you leave Konoha in their pursuit," said Tsunade sternly.

Maito Gai laid a hand on his eternal rival's shoulder. "Don't worry Kakashi! They are in the springtime of their Youth! None will dare stand against the Young Green Shinobi of Konoha!" said Gai enthusiastically.

"Somehow, it doesn't sound quite so good the way you put it," said the Copy Nin.

He turned back to the Hokage, who was seated behind her desk, reading the first page of a thick file. But Tsunade cut him off before he even opened his mouth.

"Hatake Kakashi, I realize the severity of the situation. But I place my complete confidence in the shinobi I have sent out. I might add that they are chuunin level and two are jounin. I ask now that the other chuunin and jounin be put on Level One alert. Increase the number on patrol at the walls, but don't alarm anyone. Have them on constant guard day and night at least until they return. I know that we may be up against something big here. Already most of our best ninja are away from the village. I cannot afford to send out more."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama —" Kakashi slammed his fist on the Hokage's desk, but Tsunade remained undeterred. "You know that it's more than just 'something big' that we're up against here. Both you and I know that the power and brains behind the movements of the Six Winds are the Akatsuki and Orochimaru."

* * *

The shadow nin looked up at the dark sky. The clouds still covered the moon. Here and there a star would blink mischievously down at him. He sighed. Why couldn't people just live peacefully together and not bother about who was more powerful or richer? Tonight was a good night for cloud watching. Or star gazing, if you liked. Temari would prefer to stargaze. _Okay, don't think about that now. Must concentrate every bit of my IQ of 200 on finding that damn Uchiha and the Hyuuga and rescuing Sakura._

Shikamaru jumped down from his perch atop a tall tree, landing in the middle of the small circle his team had formed as they say quietly with their backs leaning against hard trunks.

"Okay team," he said. "Time to get a move on." They nodded in unison, getting to their feet. All this running was tiring, Nara knew, but there wasn't mush choice.

"Uh, Captain?" said Hinata tentatively.

"What?"

"Ano, um, it's not because we stopped to rest twice. I mean, we've had some trouble tracking them from the very start but —"

Shikamaru turned to Kiba. The Inuzuka nodded.

"Even Akamaru has been having trouble sniffing them out in the past few hours," said Kiba. "Some rain must have headed us off. That would have swept all traces of their scent away even if it was just a light shower."

Shikamaru frowned. "I see." He felt the ground and the barks of several nearby trees. "Well, seems like the rain did beat us to it. Even the air here still feels a bit damp," he said to himself.

"Well," he addressed his team, "No time to waste lazing about here. Let's go." And with that, he leapt away. The others followed.

"Oi, Shikamaru!" Naruto called out.

"What is it now?"

Naruto caught up to the shadow user. "Where are you leading us if we can't track Sasuke and Neji's scents?"

"Hmpf." Shikamaru landed lightly on a tree branch. A moment later, Naruto landed beside him. Shikamaru could feel the eyes of the rest of his team staring holes into his back, but he ignored them. Still on one knee, he whispered so only Naruto could hear. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you? You've been very quiet."

"Huh? What are you saying?"

"Don't play stupid now, dobe. You of all people should know exactly where we're headed when we don't know the location of the Uchiha and Hyuuga."

With that, Shikamaru took off again. The rest of the team followed wordlessly.

Nara led the group now. He had hoped and prayed it would not come to this. Taking this course of action was akin to running into the middle of a bloody battle field while bombs were being thrown. But things had taken a turn for the worse when the rain clouds had headed them off. He felt his right pants pocket for a small scroll. It was still there.

_

* * *

FLASHBACK_

"_Leave immediately," said the Hokage._

"_Hai," five voices chorused._

"_A word, Nara, if you please," said the Hokage as the ninja began to file out of the office. Shikamaru waited for the other four to leave then closed the door and walked back to the Hokage's desk._

"_What is it, Hokage-sama?"_

_Tsunade mutely handed him a scroll. Shikamaru unrolled it and grimaced._

"_What is this?"_

"_An alternative route should you be unable to track down the Uchiha and Hyuuga," she said bluntly._

"_Alternative route?" he repeated._

_The Godaime nodded. "I hope you will not have to follow this path for it may be more dangerous than finding Sasuke and Neji first since you will be on your own and will be approaching hostile area without first receiving information on who you're dealing with. I suggest you do your best to track down and find the Uchiha and Hyuuga first. Only if and when that attempt fails or proves futile, only then will you even take that scroll and use it to lead you. There is a chance, albeit small, that the place indicated on that map you hold may be where they are going."_

"_This place? This is still in Fire territory."_

"_I know it is. You know what this could mean, don't you, Nara?" said Tsunade, her honey-hazel eyes narrowed and fixed on his black ones._

_Shikamaru's gaze traveled from Tsunade's face to the map and back. A gut feeling told him that this mission might well surpass A-rank._

"_This lair, Hokage-sama," said the shadow nin, "isn't this _his_ old lair?"_

_Tsunade nodded._

"_I though it might be him behind this."_

"_I can only hope you don't encounter him or anyone else other than the Six Winds. But there's no guarantee. I'd send Kakashi, but he's not yet fit for a mission of this rank. Not that he's incapable. He needs a few more days to fully recover. He's still on a bit of medication. He's on his feet now, I know, and has been for a time since the attempt on his life. But the tests I performed on him still don't say I can send him out. That poison did what it was supposed to do."_

_Shikamaru nodded and turned to leave._

"_Nara."_

_Shikamaru paused, his hand on the door knob._

"_Be careful."_

_Nara Shikamaru pulled open the door and left the Hokage's office._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

**

* * *

AN:**** Hope you liked this. Not much action here I know, but there will be in the next chapter I promise. Just a hint if you're interested: Sakura gets to jump and punch around a certain someone. Can you guess who? Won't say anymore lest I spoil the surprises. Hehe. Expect update in max ... um ... 2-3 weeks hopefully?**

**Ja ne!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks a lot to all those who read and reviewed the story! Really gave me the motivation to go ahead and write the next chapter. **

**Anyway, on to the story.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

**

* * *

**

**CHAPTER 16**

A tremendous force sent Sakura crashing against the far wall. She tasted blood in her mouth. But she quickly got to her feet again. She knew that he was just testing her. This wasn't really a battle. He simply wanted to know how 'worthy' an opponent she was to test his skills on. But she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. She wasn't going to reveal to him what she was truly capable of. But she couldn't keep getting beat up either.

"What, you're not in the mood to entertain me, Sakura-san?" Itachi sneered. "That's just too bad. And here I was hoping to have some fun."

Too quick for the untrained eye, Itachi moved behind Sakura. But she was ready for him and lazily dodged his attacks. It had been over and hour since he had engaged her in this cat-and-mouse- like game and she was getting tired. Concentrating only on not getting hit, she realized too late that the Itachi behind her was only a kage bunshin. The real Itachi caught her and slammed her against the wall, causing another thin trickle of blood to flow between her lips and down her chin. He pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and lifted her chin with the other so that she was looking straight into his merciless eyes.

"You know, Sakura," he said icily, "you foiled my plans. You made my foolish little brother play the good boy and he returned to Konoha. Orochimaru was too soft on him, I think. Either that, or he just couldn't control Sasuke."

Sakura said nothing. She would not give in. She tried to avert her gaze and chose to stare at the ceiling over his shoulder.

"You know, don't you?" Itachi went on. "You know why dear Sasuke left Konoha. You know why he craved power, don't you, Sakura-san? Shall I show you, Sakura? Shall I show you how I moulded my little brother?"

Itachi once again forced her to look into his eyes. Before she could even blink, before she could even think of closing her eyes, onyx turned to crimson, and she was staring at the deadly twin spiraling pools of the mangekyo sharingan.

Sakura found herself standing in a dark street. Above her the sky was blood red. The world of the mangekyo is a strange and confusing one. She looked down at herself: it was like she was a drawing on a blackboard. She was black outlined in white. She looked up when she heard a noise. She saw a little boy of about seven approach. He stopped when he seemed to notice the absence of lights at the windows and the dense silence. He lifted his head and frowned, pouting slightly.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gasped with realization. As the seven-year-old Sasuke began to run, her surroundings melted away. She now found herself standing in a spacious room. In front of her, a man, his face hidden from her in the shadows, mercilessly slew the woman weeping at his feet. Her blood dripped from his katana onto the floor, soaking the floorboards, leaving their permanent stain of death there.

Next thing she knew, she was running frantically through a house. Why was she running? But she had no control over her own body. The windows she passed seemed ridiculously high. So were the door handles. She was taking more steps than she normally did when running. Her legs felt shorter than they had been a moment ago. She felt her mouth open and heard herself call out, "Kaa-san! Tou-san!" But the voice was not hers. It was little Sasuke's.

And so, Itachi forced her to experience what Sasuke had endured the night Itachi had murdered his whole clan. As seven-year-old Sasuke, he forced Sakura to 'relive' that night several times over, without altering any part of the true story.

After what had seemed like countless hour or even days to Sakura's mind, Itachi released her. She was back in her cell, staring at his red eyes, his pallid, expressionless face.

Itachi let go of her arms and stepped back. Immediately, rivers of tears poured down Sakura's cheeks as she slumped onto the cold stone floor. She was shaking uncontrollably, crying in choking sobs, hardly able to breathe.

Uchiha Itachi turned his back on her and left the cell, shutting the door loudly behind him, the clang of steel echoing loudly on the stone.

* * *

Sakura awoke from a restless sleep that involved dreams of red skies, pained screams and cries of _"Kaa-san! Otou-san!"_ and _"Nii-san! No! Why are you showing me this!"_ her back ached from having slept on the stone floor and her head throbbed. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, Sakura surveyed her cell. She heaved a sigh of relief to find that she was alone. There was a tray of food on the floor. Sakura could tell it wasn't drugged, but she was in no mood to eat just now. She dared not even open her mouth for too long out of fear that she might vomit. The young Sasuke's screams filled her mind's ears and she clutched wildly at her own hair. 

So Itachi had really mercilessly slaughtered his own clan, his family, his parents. He had showed Sasuke. He had let his little brother live on, forced him to hate in order to grow strong. Sakura knew now what Sasuke had gone through. She knew now why he had been so cold, so harsh, looking only to have revenge. She knew only too well now. She had lived it. Well, not exactly, but she had been forced to relive that night. Not once. Not twice. Not three times. Forty-eight times. It had been many hours in that timeless world of the mangekyo sharingan, and yet only a split second in reality. How was that possible? How could her mind have lived forty-eight night and her body a mere second? It was not logically possible. But such was the deadly power of the mangekyo sharingan. How she had counted, she didn't know. She just knew it had been forty-eight nights. It might not have had any physical effect on her body, but the mental and emotional trauma was severe.

Sakura understood Sasuke's desire for revenge. She knew now the hurt and the pain. She had felt it all. She had seen through his own eyes his parents' bloody corpses. Through his eyes, she had seen how merciless Itachi's killing spree had been. Then, an icy cold thought struck her. How many times in the past had Itachi used the mangekyo on his younger brother? How many times had he tortured the boy's mind, forcing him to hate, to seek power, revenge? How many other people had he used those deadly eyes on?

Sakura heard footsteps on the other side of her cell door and quickly got to her feet. The heavy steel door opened and Itachi entered, followed by his shark-like partner, Kisame. Itachi eyed the untouched food on the floor. He was amused, but his face didn't show it. Kisame, however, leered.

"Hn. That's not good, Sakura-san," said the older Uchiha brother. "You mustn't deprive your body pf food now. That wouldn't be healthy."

"Shut up, you bastard," was the stern reply.

"It's like that now, eh?" said Kisame, quickly positioning himself behind Sakura and grabbing her upper arms.

"Let go of me!" she cried, struggling to free herself from his strong grip.

"Now, now, Sakura-san," said Itachi. "Don't struggle too much or you'll get hurt." Sakura's vain movements stopped. Not that she was taking any orders from him, of course. She just knew that there was no point. She could not fight these two together. Not in her current state.

"Here's the deal," the older Uchiha went on. "You give me what I want and I won't hurt you."

* * *

The shadow-nin scanned the trees surrounding the area in which the dilapidated shack was located. His team was good. There was no visible indication that any of them were there at all. 

"Everybody in position?" said Shikamaru softly.

"Hai!" four other voices sounded in the device wedged on to his right ear. Shikamaru was about to issue an order when he heard a quiet whine from Akamaru and Kiba whisper softly.

"What is it, Inuzuka?" he asked.

"Nothing," said the dog-trainer. "Akamaru thought he smelled something familiar. But the scent's disappeared just as quickly and I don't sense anyone's charka close by."

"Alright, but we have to be careful all the same. It's unlikely that we were followed. If we had been followed by the enemy, they should have attacked us long ago and not let us get here. I don't think there are any guards patrolling the area, but be on alert. We don't want to call anybody's attention."

"Hai," said the four voices in his ear.

"Okay then. Hinata, scout the area. Radius of fifty meters. In and around that shack. Check for obvious signs of disturbance or any indication that someone was here recently."

"Hai," said the Hyuuga heiress. Silence followed during which Hinata used her Byakugan eyes to search for signs of a human being. "No one is here," she said eventually. "At least none that I could detect. Actually it seems as if the thick dust on the floor hasn't been disturbed for many years."

Shikamaru frowned. "Let's move in," he said. Nara formed a hand seal and extended his shadow from his lofty perch atop the tree, using the forest shadows to aid him. A translucent shadow-hand groped for the door and pushed. The wood creaked unpleasantly and the hinges moaned their annoyance at being so rudely disturbed from their peaceful sleep. A puff of gray smoke later, five shinobi appeared in the middle of an immensely dusty room. The floor was gray with dust so thick it almost looked like it were stone instead of wood. The numerous shelves that housed thick books, scrolls and jars of eerie things, some of which still simmered evilly, appeared to have a makeshift curtain of cobwebs.

"Whoa, Hinata was right," said Naruto. "I bet even the spiders have left this place."

"Aw shit! Is that a human heart?' said Kiba incredulously, pointing at a jar that held what indeed looked like a human heart immersed in a glittering green liquid.

"It appears that way," Shino drawled.

"Oi, Nara," said Kiba, "What is this place anyway? Why did you bring us here?"

"Yeah," Hinata chirped. "This place is rather — uh — creepy, so to speak."

Shikamaru sighed. He had to tell them anyway. What he wasn't so eager to see was the looks of shock and horror on their faces as they realized who or what they were going up against. But before he could say anything, the fox Jinchuuriki stepped up to him.

"Shikamaru," said the kyuubi vessel softly.

"What, Naruto?"

"Tell me this place isn't what I think it is."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play around now, Shikamaru. Why are we here? Is that bastard snake involved in this? Or, more likely, did he start this mess?"

"What are you saying, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, bewildered. Kiba and Shino looked just as puzzled.

"Shikamaru," said Naruto. "Why haven't you told them yet?"

The shadow master looked down at the blond for a moment. He had really hoped that it wouldn't come to this, that they wouldn't have to come to this wretched place. If anything happened to these shinobi under his command — his _friends_ — it would be his fault. One wrong call and he could get them all killed. He didn't want that on his head. He wouldn't be able to live with the shame, the regret. But this was no time to show weaknesses or hesitation. He was their jounin captain on this mission. He had to lead the way. They all depended on him. So he hitched his usual bored and annoyed expression on his face, and when he spoke, his voice was void of all feeling and emotion.

"I was about to just now before you started talking, dobe," he said. But Naruto caught the hint of uneasiness that Nara had been unable to fully mask. No one else seemed to notice though.

"Shikamaru, just what are you two talking about?" asked Kiba, frustrated.

The shadow-nin looked the three of them over slowly.

Why? Why did the missions he captained his friends on usually involve them being in the face of imminent death? He remembered the first times he had captained his friends on a 'rescue mission' (that was what they called it, but it was more of trying to forcefully drag the damn Uchiha traitor back to Konoha — preferably after beating him to bloody pulp). That was his first mission as captain. He had just become a chuunin. His first mission as captain. A-rank, was it? It didn't matter. What mattered was that all his friends had come face to face with death. And they bravely stood up to it, fighting against it. Chouji was the first to sacrifice himself. He gave everything. Taking that red pill was like committing suicide. Kiba came so close, too. He probably never forgave himself for what he had put Akamaru through that day. He would have certainly died if Kankuro had arrived even a few minutes later than he did. And Neji — Neji came the closest to dying that day. In fact, if it hadn't been for the tireless efforts of Shizune and the team of healers working for hours on end, they would really have lost him. Neji had pushed himself even when it was already evident to him that he was slowly dying. Lee got through his ordeal thanks to an innocent mistake. Lee shouldn't have been there in the first place. He had been badly injured in the chuunin exams by Sabaku no Gaara. He ended up fighting alongside Gaara himself. And he, Nara Shikamaru, though he was the captain, he came out of it with the least injuries — just fatigue and a broken finger. But even he, for his great intelligence, had gotten into a tight spot and had to be saved by Temari, who, like her brothers, arrived right on time. Naruto had another story all together. He had come face to face with Sasuke. The person they were trying to 'save'. Their comrade. The one Naruto saw almost as a 'brother'. Sasuke had fought with the intention of killing him. And he had come very close. A whim, was it, that he had let Naruto live? But never mind Sasuke, the damn idiot was back now and was clearly on their side.

Shikamaru did not want to go through that experience again. But here he was. There was no running away, no avoiding it. His fears, his memories had chased after him and finally caught up, demanding he go through this again. And this time, he swore to himself, he was doing a much better job of it. His IQ of 200 be damned if he lost even one of them today.

"This," said Shikamaru slowly as if he was choosing his words very carefully, addressing Shino, Kiba and Hinata.

"This is the former lair of the third of the legendary sannin: Orochimaru."

* * *

_::CherriesandRoses89::_


End file.
